Patients are increasingly finding it convenient to use telehealth and mental health platforms instead of opting for physical checkups in most cases. Reports suggest that patients find such platforms convenient instead of physical checkups for a minor illness or medication management.
From people over the age of 55 who find it physically difficult to opt for a physical check-up to people living in remote areas, multiple studies suggest the users of telehealth and mental health platforms are diverse and growing.
So the question becomes, what telemedicine software features should the ideal platform have for its users?
Table of Contents
- 7 crucial features to consider for your telehealth and mental health platform and app
- Easy-to-use user interface
- Reliable and uninterrupted real-time video and audio communication
- Effective patient records management system
- Easy appointment scheduling
- Security for patients
- Personalized content and resources
- Analytics and Reporting
- Use a secure, trusted video API for your telehealth platform with Digital Samba
Here, we look at 7 crucial telemedicine app features that must be considered to create a platform that effectively caters to all kinds of users. Let’s dive in!
7 crucial features to consider for your telehealth and mental health platform and app
To give your platform an edge over your competitors and to further create a sense of convenience over traditional means of gaining access to mental health professionals, here are 7 crucial telemedicine app features to consider:
Easy-to-use user interface
For a telehealth platform, it’s crucial to ensure a User Interface (UI) and User Experience (UX) design that is easy to use for users. Such a platform will have users above the ages of 55-60 who might not be tech-savvy and will struggle to use an online platform. It will also have patients suffering from mental health problems; an incompatible platform can add to their frustration.
Considering the sensitivity of the situation, a telemedicine platform should consider the following aspects for its user interface:
- The text (and font) should be easy to read, especially for users over the 55-60 age range.
- A chatbot (or AI chatbot) option can assist users if they’re confused while using the platform or are visually impaired. Utilising AI-powered chatbot software provides valuable assistance for users navigating the platform, particularly aiding those who are visually impaired or experiencing confusion. Through advanced algorithms, these chatbots offer seamless interaction, understanding natural language to ensure effective communication and fostering a more inclusive user experience.
- Multi-language support, considering users from all backgrounds will use the telehealth platform. To tailor the telemedicine platform's user interface to meet the unique needs of both patients and healthcare providers, the utilization of custom healthcare software development ensures a seamless and inclusive experience for all users.
Reliable and uninterrupted real-time video and audio communication
Your patients will need reliable video and audio communication when talking to health professionals in real-time. Any disruption or poor quality can compromise patient care, erode trust, and lead to potential miscommunications. It can even cause further medical distress, especially when the call is important for the patient and sensitive in nature.
We recommend using a third-party reliable video calling API like Digital Samba, which is built to handle large-scale video calls such as those on telehealth platforms. This removes the hassle of building and maintaining an audio/video communication channel and ensures maximum uptime.
Effective patient records management system
A centralized Patient Records Management System (PRMS) is a crucial telemedicine software feature that allows for patient data, including medical history (medications, allergies, and other relevant information), to be readily available for healthcare professionals when needed. This is both an opportunity and a necessity for any telehealth platform.
Amidst this setup, it’s key to pinpoint that specialised mental health patient information management is a cornerstone of telehealth platforms dedicated to psychological well-being. This subsystem should deftly handle sensitive data with extra layers of privacy and contextual understanding, catering specifically to those undergoing mental health treatments.
It’s necessary because it ensures healthcare professionals have relevant information about the patient for their clinical assessment and to streamline patient outcomes.
It’s an opportunity because the digital nature of the platform allows for data analytics to identify trends, predict outcomes, and improve service delivery for the patient. It can also help identify patterns in patient symptoms or responses to certain treatments more reliably and effectively.
Easy appointment scheduling
A convenient way to schedule appointments is at the heart of any telehealth platform since the main purpose is to easily connect healthcare professionals with patients. Some important things for this feature should be:
- Make it easy for patients to find available time slots quickly.
- Have a feature to send follow-up messages to both parties beforehand to confirm availability. A built-in messaging system will enable communication between both parties during appointment scheduling.
- Ability to display and schedule appointments in the patient's local time zone to prevent confusion or scheduling errors.
- Support for scheduling group sessions, workshops, or classes if applicable.
Security for patients
Patient's medical data is extremely sensitive and confidential. If there’s any security flaw that can lead to such sensitive information being publicized, it can break the fundamental trust patients have in your platform, along with causing undue harm to the patient.
This is why it’s important to consider security when thinking about the telemedicine software features for the platform. To make sure you stay on top of security for your telehealth platform, consider the following:
Encryption Solutions for Telehealth Platforms
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Personalized content and resources
Adding additional content and resources to help the patient read about their specific condition can be a great add-on to any telehealth/mental health platform. Current AI/ML algorithms allow such platforms to show each patient content relevant to their condition and help them better deal with it.
The platform can leverage its network of healthcare professionals to create articles so patients can study their relevant subject from different perspectives. It can also be a great marketing strategy, as people searching for illnesses across the web can also gain insight from the resources published by the telehealth platform and maybe even opt to sign up for the platform.
Analytics and Reporting
Analytics and reporting capabilities give telehealth platforms an edge over traditional methods and are one of the most important telemedicine software features to have. Some key capabilities to keep in mind include:
Navigating HIPAA and GDPR: A Guide to Video Conferencing for Healthcare Professionals
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Use a secure, trusted video API for your telehealth platform with Digital Samba
Building out a telehealth platform requires providing telemedicine software features that increase patient convenience while staying secure. A lot goes into making this a reality. As we highlighted in this article, this includes everything from a superior UI/UX design to easy appointment scheduling, analytics, and reporting to security patients.
Out of all the features, reliable audio/video communication is the most important one since it forms the foundation for your digital platform. To ensure you stay on top of this, check out Digital Samba’s Video API which seamlessly integrates with your online telehealth platform and enables reliable, secure video communication between healthcare professionals and patients.
We’re GDPR compliant and tailor our API to handle large-scale video conferencing requirements, which is why we’re trusted by some of the biggest companies in the world. Check here to talk to our sales team.
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